Fresno Superior Court Document Format Requirements

All papers must be typewritten or legibly printed and comply with the court and California rules of court, and the Clerk ordinarily will not accept noncompliant papers unless the Court orders otherwise.

All papers shall conform to these rules and the California Rules of Court, and shall be typewritten or legibly printed. The Clerk will not accept for filing any papers not in compliance unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

Points and authorities for motions heard before the writ merits hearing must comply with the filing schedule and page limits in California Rules of Court 3.1113 and 3.1300 unless the court orders otherwise.

Points and authorities for any motion to be heard prior to the hearing on the merits of the writ petition shall comply with the filing schedule and page limits specified in California Rules of Court, rules 3.1113 and 3.1300, unless otherwise ordered.

The trial notebook must include a table of contents, corresponding tabbed sections, and an index referencing document page numbers.

The trial notebook shall contain a table of contents, tabbed sections consistent with the table of contents, and an index of the documents in the notebook referencing page numbers.

Trial-notebook pages must be sequentially numbered in the lower-right corner and bound in a D-ring binder no thicker than three inches.

The notebook’s pages shall be sequentially numbered in the lower right-hand corner of each page and be bound in a “D-ring” binder no more than three (3) inches thick.

A sound or video recording offered in evidence must be converted to a format compatible with the court's equipment.

Any party intending to offer any sound and/or video recording in evidence shall lodge with the Court on the first day of trial, or prior to the commencement of the motion or hearing, a copy converted to a format compatible with the equipment used by the Court.

Format

PDF

Items electronically submitted for the court's consideration must be PDF files no larger than 5 GB.

Any items electronically submitted for the Court’s consideration (e.g. certificates of completion, letters in support, proof of attendance, etc.) must be as a PDF file no larger than 5 GB in size.

Format

PDF

Electronic filings must use a fully searchable PDF with electronic bookmarks to all headings, components, included proof of service, and the first page of each exhibit or attachment.

The Court requires that electronic filing of documents be effected using a fully searchable .pdf file and include electronic bookmarks to each heading, subheading and component (including the table of contents, table of authorities, petition, verification, points and authorities, declaration, and proof of service if included), and to the first page of each exhibit or attachment, if any.

Document preparers must type their or their business’s initials and runner numbers in the moving papers’ face-sheet caption under the heading “Attorney or Party Without Attorney.”

D. As an additional requirement, document preparers shall type their initials or the initials of their business and the runner numbers in the caption under the heading “Attorney or Party Without Attorney” on the face sheet of the moving papers.

Jury instructions must use either a detachable-top form or a multi-page format, with the requesting party and supporting authority on the top or first page and the instruction itself separated for the jury.

D. Instructions shall be submitted either on a form with a detachable top or in a multi-page format. If a form with a detachable top is used, the top portion of the instruction shall contain the name of the party upon whose behalf it is requested and citation to supporting authority. If that instruction is used, the detachable bottom of the form will be given to the jury for use during deliberations. If a multi-page format is used, one page shall contain the name of the party upon whose behalf it is requested and citation to supporting authority. A separate page or pages shall contain the instruction itself. If that instruction is used, only the page or pages containing the instruction itself will be given to the jury for use during deliberations.

Illegible Judicial Council forms or forms photocopied upside down on the reverse may not be accepted for filing.

If photocopies of forms adopted by the Judicial Council are illegible or the reverse side is photocopied upside down, they may not be accepted for filing.

Unless the court orders otherwise, motions in limine must be written, filed, and served at least 10 calendar days before the hearing or trial.

Unless otherwise ordered by the court at the trial/hearing setting conference, all motions in limine must be in writing and filed and served at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the hearing/trial.

All motion, opposition, and reply papers must be written and display the hearing date, time, department, and hearing time estimate on the first page.

All motion papers, opposition papers, and reply papers must be in writing and must display on the first page the motion hearing date, time, and department and a time estimate for the motion hearing.

Physical filings with attachments, schedules, or exhibits must be indexed and have page numbers on every page.

Physical filings containing attachments, schedules, or exhibits shall be indexed and shall have page numbers on all pages.

No material may appear after the judge’s signature in a probate order.

In no case shall any material appear after the signature of the judge.

The original petition and two additional copies must be presented to the Clerk for filing.

The original and two (2) copies of the Petition for Appointment of Temporary Guardian or Conservator shall be presented to the Clerk for filing.

All exhibits must be marked in numerical order regardless of who marks them.

All exhibits, regardless of who marks them, shall be marked in numerical order.

Exhibits must be tab-separated with each tab indicating the exhibit number.

The exhibits must be separated by tabs indicating their number.

Exhibits must be provided to the court in one or more binders as necessary.

Exhibits shall be provided to the court in one or more binders, as necessary.

The prospective-witness list must be prepared in MS Excel for the court's electronic display.

Counsel shall provide the clerk and the reporter with a list of prospective witnesses in alphabetical order – by last name – in MS Excel format so that they may be shown through the court's electronic display for jury selection.

Multipage exhibits must be separately bound or placed under separate binder tabs, with each page separately numbered.

Multiple page exhibits must be separately bound or included under a separate tab in a binder and each page must be separately numbered.

Photographs must be Bates-stamped and submitted in clear slipcovers or three-hole-punched form for an exhibit binder.

Photographs shall be Bates-stamped, presented in clear slip-covers or 3-hole punched so that they may be placed in an exhibit binder.

When a party cites out-of-state authority or authority obtained through Lexis or Westlaw, each authority must be placed in a separately bound appendix and tabbed and indexed as an exhibit.

If a party cites to out-of-state cases, statutes or rules, or authority cited through a “Lexis” or “Westlaw” citation, a copy of each authority shall be lodged in a separately bound appendix of authorities, and each authority shall be tabbed and indexed as an exhibit as required by California Rules of Court, rule 3.1110(f).

Additional trial notebooks with the same specified features are encouraged when the volume of documents warrants their use.

Should documents dictate, further notebooks with the same features should be used.

Each paragraph in a declaration must be numbered sequentially.

Each paragraph of any declaration shall be numbered sequentially.

Exhibits and attachments must be tabbed, identified by tab reference, and separated by hard letter-size sheets with protruding exhibit-designation tabs.

The original and all copies of exhibits and attachments shall be tabbed and shall be referred to in the pleadings or papers by tab identification. Each exhibit must be separated by a hard 8 ½ x 11 sheet with hard paper or plastic tabs extending below the bottom of the page, bearing the exhibit designation.

Declaration paragraphs must be numbered sequentially, and all exhibits and attachments must be tabbed, identified by tab references, and separated by hard letter-size sheets with hard paper or plastic tabs bearing the exhibit designation.

Each paragraph of any declaration shall be numbered sequentially. The original and all copies of exhibits and attachments shall be tabbed and shall be referred to in the pleadings or papers by tab identification. Each exhibit must be separated by a hard 8 ½ x 11 sheet with hard paper or plastic tabs extending below the bottom of the page, bearing the exhibit designation.

Each exhibit or attachment bookmark must include the exhibit’s letter or number and a description.

Each bookmark to an exhibit or attachment shall include the letter or number of the exhibit or attachment and a description of the exhibit or attachment.

Each file in a multi-part electronic submission must have its own table or index of contents.

If exhibits or attachments are submitted in multi-part electronic files, each separate file must have its own table or index of the contents of the file.

Monetary distributions in probate orders must be stated in dollars rather than as a percentage of the estate.

Monetary distributions must be stated in dollars, and not as a percentage of the estate.

When a probate order contains riders or exhibits, the judicial officer’s signature line must appear after all exhibits at the end of the complete document.

If the order contains riders or exhibits, the signature line provided for the judicial officer shall appear after all such exhibits, at the end of the complete document.

At least some contents of a probate order must appear on the same page as the judge’s signature.

Some portion of the contents of the order must appear on the page upon which the judge’s signature is affixed.

The joint prospective-witness list should fit on one side of a single sheet of paper.

The list should be reduced to one side of a single piece of paper.

Format

PDF

The court prefers the administrative record to be submitted as a searchable, bookmarked PDF, but does not state this preference as mandatory.

The court prefers that the record be submitted in a searchable, portable document format (PDF) with bookmarks.

The court prefers double-spaced lines for all memoranda, but states this as a preference rather than a categorical mandate.

The court prefers that all memoranda use double-spaced lines.

Format

PDF

Forms and templates prefixed with "P" are web-enabled, fillable Adobe PDF files.

"P" = Adobe pdf (web-enabled/fillable)

Format

PAPER

Forms and templates prefixed with "F" are intended to be printed out.

"F" = form (print out)